


The Second-Worst Crystal Gem

by Ellimac



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, episode: Steven vs. Amethyst, shameless fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 05:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7672618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellimac/pseuds/Ellimac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot attempts to comfort Amethyst after her fight with Steven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Second-Worst Crystal Gem

“Peridot.”

Peridot, absorbed in her tablet, hadn’t heard Garnet coming. She jumped up, nearly flinging the tablet aside in her surprise.

“Garnet! What are you doing here?” she said. “You guys never visit the barn.”

“Amethyst is training with Steven right now,” Garnet said, unruffled as usual. “When she’s done, she’ll need you.”

“She will? What for?” The words “training” and “need” jumped out at her. “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’s fine,” Garnet said. “She’ll be a little tired, but physically, she’ll be fine. She just needs someone to talk to.”

Peridot frowned. “Just someone? Why can’t you or Pearl do it?”

“It has to be you.” Garnet knelt down and put her hand on Peridot’s shoulder. “You’re the only one who can really understand what she’s going through.”

Peridot squinted. “It doesn’t sound like she’s okay.”

Garnet stood up again. “Just come to the temple in half an hour. You’ll see what I mean.”

“Or you could just tell me,” Peridot suggested.

But Garnet just smiled and headed back to the warp pad.

Peridot grumbled. “Just like a fusion to give me no real warning. ‘Is Amethyst okay?’ ‘You’ll just have to see for yourself, Peridot. Only then will you unlock your true potential.’”

She giggled at herself. That was a spot-on Garnet impression, if she did say so herself.

Nevertheless. If Amethyst needed her, she was honor-bound to go. It was just a matter of figuring out exactly _what_ Amethyst needed…

\--

Thirty minutes later, she warped into the temple loaded down with everything she could carry from the barn that she thought might be useful: an old teddy bear, a box of “shirts,” her tablet, naturally, and other assorted knickknacks that looked like they might be edible, if Amethyst decided she wanted to eat. But she dropped all of it when she saw Amethyst sitting on the couch with Steven, being lectured by Pearl.

“Amethyst!” She ran over and grabbed her hand. “You reformed! Are you okay? Did Steven hurt you?”

Amethyst stared, surprised by her sudden appearance. “Uh… no. That was Jasper.”

“ _Jasper_ was here? Ohmystars! She’s not _still_ here, is she?” Peridot looked around, as if Jasper might suddenly spring from the bathroom.

“No, no.” Steven leaned forward to reassure her. “Jasper didn’t come _here_. She just came out of the ocean, onto the beach. But it’s okay. Stevonnie beat her.”

“Yeah,” Amethyst said, with a complete lack of enthusiasm. “After she beat me. I’m fine, Peri.”

“Are you sure? You don’t need anything?” Peridot still hadn’t let go of her hand.

Amethyst glanced at Pearl, who sighed. “We’ll continue this later,” she said. “Don’t think you two are getting off the hook.”

The three of them watched as Pearl made her way into the temple. Steven looked back at Amethyst, then at Peridot’s hands around Amethyst’s. He jumped off the couch.

“I’m going down to the beach,” he said. “I probably won’t be back for… um… a while.” He looked awkwardly from side to side, and then practically ran out the door, leaving Peridot and Amethyst alone in the room.

Amethyst patted the couch next to her. “C’mon. Get up off the floor.”

Peridot obliged, only letting go of Amethyst’s hand because she was sitting on the other side. “Are you sure you’re okay? I brought you… stuff.” She waved a hand at the pile of junk in front of the warp pad.

“Yeah, I see that. I’m fine. I just got poofed. No biggie. It happens all the time.”

“Oh.” Peridot tentatively settled a hand on her leg. “Um… I think you look… good.”

Amethyst gave a half-smile. “Thanks.”

“I’m serious,” Peridot said. “Your shirt looks… uh, cute. And how did you do that with your hair?”

“What, this?” Amethyst pulled at her hair, which she had pulled up and away from her face and tied to keep it there. “It’s called a ponytail. It’s pretty simple. You really like it?”

“I love it,” Peridot said.

Amethyst smiled wider. “Thanks, P-dot.”

She was blushing faintly. Noticing that made Peridot blush too. “So, uh… do you always change your outfit when you reform?”

“Usually, yeah. It gets boring just sticking to the same look. I like to mix it up.” Amethyst twirled her finger in the air. “Don’t you?”

Peridot glanced aside. “I’ve only reformed once. After Garnet… poofed me.”

“And you didn’t think about your look, huh? Well, maybe next time you should.” Amethyst tilted her head. “I think you’d look good in a skirt.”

That got Peridot blushing harder than before. “Really? You think so?”

“Sure. And have you ever thought of doing something different with your hair?” Amethyst ruffled the top of Peridot’s hair. “Something less, uh, triangle-y? How about long hair, like mine?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Peridot reached for Amethyst’s hair in turn, running a hand through it without thinking about it. “I’ve always looked like this. Doesn’t long hair get in the way?”

“Nah. I think it’d suit you. But hey.” Amethyst leaned closer. “When you do reform, pick something _you_ like. Don’t base it off what I say. I learned that from the best.”

Peridot thought, if she ever did reform, she wouldn’t have the first clue what she should look like and would probably take Amethyst’s advice anyway.

“Thanks,” she said.

“No problem.” Amethyst sighed and settled back into the couch. “If only everything were as easy as picking an outfit, huh?”

Peridot sat up straight. “What do you mean?”

Amethyst looked at her, then looked away. “Nothing. It’s nothing you don’t already know.”

 That got Peridot worried again. She drew herself up as tall as she could. “Amethyst, as your friend, it is my duty to help you through these troubled times.”

Amethyst started to grin. “You learn that from Camp Pining Hearts?”

Peridot hesitated. “Maybe.”

“Well, you don’t need to help me. I’m just a defective quartz. Nothing new there.”

Oh. “Well… you may be defective, but you’re still, uh, a very competent—”

“Save it, Peri. Steven kicked my butt at training and Stevonnie beat Jasper when I couldn’t. I’m not competent at anything.”

Peridot found herself flushing. “That’s not true! What about all the fun we had at Funland? You’re competent at having a good time. And you beat Malachite! Okay, you were fused with the others at the time, but still! And you did an excellent job helping with the drill. And—”

“Jeez, chill,” Amethyst said. “I get it. You think I’m good at everything. I’m not.”

“You’re great at shapeshifting,” Peridot said, her tone accusatory. “That’s something _I_ can’t even do. But you do it without even thinking.”

“Shapeshifting isn’t much use in battle,” Amethyst said.

“Are you kidding? Of course it is! When you all thought I was going to betray you to Yellow Diamond—and that time—”

“Peri, come on.”

“But it’s _very_ useful! Not just for battle! You’re good at a lot of things! Speaking as one defective gem to another—”

“Don’t call me that.”

Amethyst’s tone had turned cold, but Peridot forged on. She was on a roll.

“As one small gem to another, then, you’re the best, most talented, most wonderful gem I’ve ever met. You make me laugh, you hang out with me like a real friend, and you fight! You’re a real Crystal Gem, Amethyst!”

Amethyst pushed herself back upright. “Yeah?”

“You’re the _best_ Crystal Gem,” Peridot said, grabbing her hand in earnest. “The very best. And not just because the others are de—uh, you know.” There was an awkward pause before she rushed on again. “You’re the best because you’re _you_.”

There was a brief silence. Peridot wondered if she’d said the wrong thing again. Then, with a smile forming on her face, Amethyst said, “No way. I’m the worst.”

“No,” Peridot said adamantly. “ _I’m_ the worst. I can’t even shapeshift and I’ve never fused in my life.”

“You kidding? You can float metal. With your _mind_. I’m totally worse than you.”

“I only just found out I can do that! And I’m not very good at it! You’ve got lots more practice at everything. You’re _way_ better than I am.”

“No way are you the worst,” Amethyst said. She started to grin. “But you know who _is_ the worst Crystal Gem?”

“Who?”

“Lapis.”

Peridot’s brow furrowed. “But she’s not even a Crystal Gem.”

Amethyst gave her a friendly push. “Exactly. She’s so bad she hasn’t even joined up.”

Slowly, a smile started to spread across Peridot’s face. “Oh, I see. Yeah, you’re right. Lazuli is totally the worst Crystal Gem.” She paused. “But I’m second-worst.”

Amethyst laughed and shoved her down onto the couch. “Oh, it is _on_. Once I’m rested from my training with Steven, we’re totally fighting. And you’ll whoop my _ass_.”

“No way,” Peridot said, pulling herself back up. “I’m guaranteed to lose. I’ve never won a fight in my life.”

“We’ll see,” Amethyst said with a grin. She pushed Peridot back down and leaned on top of her, effectively pinning her to the couch. “We’ll see.”

Peridot didn’t even bother to struggle. She was perfectly content with their current position. And though she didn’t say anything, she was pretty sure Amethyst had just proven herself wrong.


End file.
